According to the indictment, between October 2015 and March 2019, Blieden was the controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, a digital company once based in Hollywood, but which relocated to London in April,\u201d<\/strong> said the US Attorneys Office for the Central District of California in a statement.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe Justice Department believes Blieden embezzled StyleHaul funds from the time he started working at the company in October 2015 to as recently as this March.<\/p>\n
If convicted on all the charges against him, Blieden could face a maximum prison sentence of 200 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\nMay Have Bankrupted The Company In The US<\/b><\/h2>\n
StyleHaul, described by Variety <\/i>as a \u201cfashion, beauty and lifestyle digital media and marketing company,\u201d specialized in representing social media influencers that gained fame on platforms such as Instragram and YouTube.<\/p>\n
While the firm still has operations in London, it shuttered its Los Angeles and New York offices in March, resulting in 65 layoffs, because the company was finding it difficult to consistently generate profits in the US<\/strong>.<\/p>\nStyleHaul worked with social media influencers such as Joey Graceffa, Fleur De Force, Joe Sugg, and Dulce Candy. As vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, Blieden had control over the company’s bank accounts in the US.<\/p>\n
The former executive is believed to have wired money from corporate accounts to his personal bank and is accused of attempting to cover up his misdeeds in a variety of forms.<\/p>\n
In May 2018, Blieden created a bogus lease \u201cfor the rental of a condominium in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, which bore a forged signature of a StyleHaul executive,\u201d according to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n
That maneuver allowed Blieden to swindle $230,000 from his employer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlieden also created fictitious wire transfer letters purportedly from Western Union to make it falsely appear that he had caused wire transfers from StyleHaul to a client to pay money due to the client, the indictment alleges,\u201d said DOJ.<\/p>\n
Poker Priority<\/b><\/h2>\n
Of the $22 million Blieden is accused of pilfering from StyleHaul, it is believed much of it went to fund his poker habit \u2013 both live and online.<\/p>\n